Julie Raikes said she was concerned for the health of her neighbour, her pets and herself after heavy rain in recent days caused drains to overflow and left faeces, urine and toilet paper right outside her front door and flowing into her garden on Thursday.
The 62-year-old, who lives near Southampton Hospital on Tremona Road, said that when heavy rain hits the area, sewage flows onto the road, leaving a “rotten smell”.
She said: “It’s a health hazard and needs to be sorted, there is people’s **** and toilet paper all over my driveway.
“They need a new drainage system, because it all comes here and we suffer the consequences.”
Human waste and toilet roll outside Julie’s house (Image: NQ)
Julie has lived on Tremona Road for three years and said problems with overflowing sewage are frequent.
“It has been happening for years. A lot of my neighbours deal with it as well when the drains all block up, it’s the neighbours that get it.”
The incident came amid a yellow weather warning for heavy rain in Southampton, raising concerns about surface water flooding and additional pressure on drains.
Julie said she fears for her health, as well as the well-being of her cats, which she said have to walk through the spill to get into the house.
Julie with her cats (Image: NQ)
She said: “It’s absolutely diabolical.
“I’m worried my cats will walk through it and get sick – it’s a serious health hazard.”
Julie said the latest incident began around two days earlier, when her toilet started gurgling and losing water before sewage began backing up outside her property.
She said this was the first time waste had appeared directly outside her front door, making it difficult for her to leave the house.
She described having to take precautions because of hygiene concerns, including wearing wellies and a face covering when going outside and leaving footwear at the front of the house to avoid bringing contamination indoors.
The resident added that the smell has previously forced her and neighbours to keep windows closed.
A Southern Water spokesman said: “We’re sorry our customer is experiencing this and that our response hasn’t been faster.
“Due to heavy rain our teams have been responding to many more incidents than normal but we will attend as soon as we can.”